Control of Congress hinges on 4 key NY battleground elections

The road to 2027 runs through the Empire State.New York is again expected to play a pivotal role in determining which party takes control of the House of Representatives — four years after the GOP’s four-seat pickup turned the tide in 2022.Pundits and political insiders across the US have their eyes on the state despite its status as Democratic-friendly territory, all because of high-profile battleground seats in the few remaining swing districts.“We have a chance in New York to play an important part in winning back the House majority,” state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said.“Hakeem Jeffries will be the next speaker of the House,” added Jacobs, referring to the House Democratic Minority Leader from Brooklyn.He predicted the Dems will back the House comfortably, with all incumbents winning reelection and the potential of picking up two additional seats in the Hudson Valley and upstate.State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox agreed that New York is an important piece of the House puzzle as the GOP clings to a 218-214 majority with one independent member and two vacancies in the 435-seat House.“Of course New York is important.The New York races were important in the Republicans taking the House in 2022,” he said.New York’s battlegrounds helped Republicans gain control of the House four years ago as a red wave swept them into the majority.Republicans picked up two seats on Long Island and two in the Hudson Valley.Republican George Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman for the North Shore Nassau County-Queens seat in the Third District after Democrat Tom Suozzi ran for governor instead of re-election.Meanwhile Joseph D’Esposito defeated Democrat Laura Gillen in the Fourth District, which covers Nassau’s South Shore and beach communities.In the lower Hudson Valley’s 17th District, Republican Mike Lawler scored an upset by knocking off Democratic incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney, then the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign...